[Clansman]

19 weeks this Wednesday

They've got access to outside now and I'm hoping to see the first eggs in a couple of weeks with any luck 

[Clansman]

21 weeks.

No eggs here yet but now heard of two people with some of these birds that have seen their first egg 

[Q]

I bet you will be a bit excited when that first egg appears.

Soooooo because its hard for me to keep up now, you are obviously looking for some questions.   

how many birds do you have now & How many male & female.

Have you lost any along the way apart from those you sold?

Any recent pics?

cheers

[Clansman]

Yep but would rather see more mating going on first before I start to see some eggs.

I have 10 females and 2 males here and a friend has the same at their place, I split them just incase something happens to one lot and we have a backup.

Yes a few have been lost, as far as I know out of the original 100 females and 20 males we've lost 6 females and 4 males, although two of those were within the first couple of days.

Some have just dropped dead, a couple had bad legs and the rest just never grew or grew very slowly.

A couple of the girls inside prior to getting out into the run area.

Lazy buggers they are! 

[Clansman]

First egg! 

Males are mating, saw both of them at it over the weekend 

They've been free ranging around the garden this weekend and have cleared up a pile of overgrown vegetation so might leave them to it!

They've also been eating my bees though!

I did call one of the guys that took a male and 5 females to ask how his were getting on.

He'd just fed them ad lib, they got too heavy, one of the females dropped dead and he just ate the rest 

[Clansman]

First  couple of dozen due to hatch next weeks. 

I've got just over 50% fertility with this lot but they're just stating so should see better in the next batches 

[Victorian Farmer]

I hope things go well whith the hatch I'm on some think new I'm triying to breed my broodies got the stock all young will start spring all the best.

[izard]

hi all...

hows the project going?

[Clansman]

All fine so far but the chicks are just starting to arrive

[Kimbo]

Hi Clansman,
re the chap who had some of your birds. When he said some got too heavy??? How heavy is too heavy?

[Clansman]

Mine are on fairly strict rations but I don't have a female under 3.8Kg (8.3 lbs)  (they should be under 3.3 Kg still)

27 weeks old tomorrow and laying pretty well, I'm averaging 6-7 eggs per 10 hens a day, not earth shattering but i'm happy with that from birds which area bit overweight and running around my garden 

He doesn't know they weight but described them as small turkeys. 

I would imagine on ad lib starter crumb his would have easily been pushing 4Kg by 3 months

[Kimbo]

so why is 4kgs too heavy for the table? Is heavier not better?

[Clansman]

It's not but these are/were breeders, they weren't supposed to be table birds and would have been to heavy to breed/lay.

I wouldn't keep table birds or at least these commercial Ross broilers to that weight, you would lose too many through heart attacks and bad legs etc.

3-3.5Kg is plenty for males, 2.5 for females.

Plus they eat so much feed to get them to that weight

[Kimbo]

Thank you...makes sense. Maybe Id better put my Big Bertha on a diet

[Clansman]

Who's Big Bertha?